President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, in the Michigan governor’s race just days before Michigan voters will start receiving absentee ballots for the upcoming gubernatorial primary.
“John James has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Michigan — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote in a Monday, June 22 post on his media platform Truth Social.
James celebrated in a post on X. “Thank you, President Donald J. Trump. The greatest President of my lifetime. Your endorsement is igniting a movement across Michigan, and we are ready to win!” James wrote.
Trump’s support for James’ latest bid comes after the president supported the Michigan Republican in his two unsuccessful bids for a U.S. Senate seat and his successful runs for the U.S. House of Representatives 10th Congressional District, which he has held since 2023.
In the GOP gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, August 4, James faces former Attorney General Mike Cox and businessman Perry Johnson. Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, announced his decision to end his campaign and back James just hours after Trump waded into the race. The candidates were courting Trump’s endorsement ahead of the GOP contest to decide the party’s gubernatorial nominee. Republican political consultants have described Trump’s support as critical in the intraparty contest. Democrats, meanwhile, are betting that the Republican nominee’s support for Trump will sink their chances in the November election, which they have cast as a referendum on the impact of Trump’s policies in Michigan.
While Michigan political observers have previously described the GOP gubernatorial primary as competitive, they have cast Trump’s support as unlocking the key to victory.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel, meanwhile, sees a wide-open race. “With his campaign floundering in the face of a messy primary, James is hoping that Trump will bail him out—but after Trump’s endorsed candidates recently flopped in Iowa and Georgia, this MAGA primary is far from over,” he said in a statement. But no matter who wins the primary, Republican candidates’ ties to Trump will cost them in the midterm election, Hertel added.
The Republican primary has displayed few – if any – meaningful policy disagreements. Instead, it has featured fights over which one has supported the president more vigorously than the other.
In a recent ad, for instance, the pro-James PAC Mission Michigan cast Cox and Johnson as insufficiently supportive of the president compared to the congressman, garnering pushback from his opponents.
In the primary for Trump’s support, the candidates have borrowed from the president’s playbook. Some have embraced the president’s penchant for AI-manipulated videos, including one from Johnson depicting him on the mat of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Trump birthday celebration at the White House, taking on James. All of the Republican candidates have riffed on Trump’s signature slogan with their vows to “make Michigan great again.”
Trump, in his post endorsing James, explained his decision: “As your next Governor, John will fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, Strengthen our Brave Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, Defend our always under siege Second Amendment, and Advocate for the Working Men and Women of Michigan,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s endorsement of James comes after he expressed public frustration with him for leaving a competitive congressional seat open when the president wants to maintain Republican legislative control in Washington, D.C.
In Michigan’s 2022 race for governor, Trump backed Republican Tudor Dixon just four days before the Republican primary. Dixon went on to lose to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by almost 11 points. Whitmer cannot run again due to term limits. On the Democratic side of the 2026 race, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson faces Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson.
(This story was updated to add additional information.)
Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump endorses John James in Michigan governor’s race
Reporting by Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
